Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in MP Materials Corp. $MP

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in MP Materials by 3.3% in Q4 to 14,479,787 shares, representing an 8.17% ownership worth about $731.5 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers — CEO James H. Litinsky and CFO Ryan Corbett accounted for large sales, with insiders selling 346,000 shares (~$21.97 million) in the last 90 days while still owning roughly 8.20% of the company.
• Analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $79.08, and MP recently posted an EPS beat ($0.09 vs. $0.02) despite a 13.6% revenue decline and continued negative margins.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,479,787 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 459,213 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.17% of MP Materials worth $731,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in MP Materials in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 555.3% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 557 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 4,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 564 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 106.2% in the 3rd quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in MP Materials by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 642 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MP Materials in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. TD Securities upgraded shares of MP Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of MP Materials from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wedbush began coverage on shares of MP Materials in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of MP Materials in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $79.08.

MP Materials Price Performance

Shares of MP Materials stock opened at $66.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of -128.16 and a beta of 1.90. MP Materials Corp. has a 12-month low of $18.64 and a 12-month high of $100.25. The company has a quick ratio of 6.67, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $57.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.96.

MP Materials (NYSE:MP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $52.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.06 million. MP Materials had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a negative return on equity of 4.28%. The company's revenue was down 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that MP Materials Corp. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MP Materials

In other news, CEO James H. Litinsky sold 259,179 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.03, for a total transaction of $16,595,231.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,505,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $800,756,938.95. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ryan Corbett sold 46,000 shares of MP Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $2,760,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 129,017 shares in the company, valued at $7,741,020. The trade was a 26.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 346,000 shares of company stock worth $21,969,816 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

MP Materials Profile

MP Materials Corporation operates as a vertically integrated producer of rare earth materials in North America. The company owns and manages the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, the only commercially viable rare earth mining and processing site in the United States. MP Materials extracts, separates and refines critical rare earth elements—such as neodymium, praseodymium, and cerium—which are essential inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and various defense applications.

The Mountain Pass mine first began commercial rare earth production in the 1950s and was later operated by Molycorp until its bankruptcy in 2015.

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